Not the first time? Before Chandranath Rath, three other Suvendu Adhikari aides died under mysterious circumstances | All details here

BJP West Bengal leader of opposition Suvendu Adhikari's personal assistant, Chandranath Rath, was shot and killed on Wednesday (May 6) in what an eyewitness described as a professional, pre-planned hit, as post-poll violence in the state claimed another life.As key details of the shooting that shocked West Bengal and India continue to emerge, a look at history shows that this was not the first time an aide of Suvendu Adhikari died under mysterious, suspicious circumstances. Back in 2013, Pradip Jha, a PA of Adhikari, was found dead, with his body lying on Strand Road in Kolkata. The two deaths share some uncanny similarities and an apparent link to Suvendu Adhikari. Is Rath's death a result of the ongoing post-poll clashes between the BJP and the TMC, or is someone targeting Adhikari's trusted people? Here's all you need to know.

History repeats itself? What happened to Suvendu Adhikari's PA, Pradip Jha

On August 3, 2013, Pradip Jha, a former personal assistant and political secretary to then-Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP Suvendu Adhikari, was found dead in a mysterious incident on Strand Road in Kolkata.

The 42-year-old was a resident of Barasat and had served as a PA/political secretary to TMC parliamentarians, including Suvendu Adhikari. He was found unconscious on the road, and surprisingly, pavement dwellers could not confirm when or how he arrived there.

Police did not find any immediate injury marks on his body during the initial investigation, and an autopsy suggested he may have choked after consuming a large amount of alcohol. However, his family and political associates immediately disputed this, alleging he was murdered. Subsequently, an investigation was launched in 2013, but reports suggest that no definitive updates were ever made public regarding the culprits or final findings.

Suvendu Adhikari's bodyguard Subhabrata Chakraborty killed mysteriously

In 2018, Subhabrata Chakraborty, a State Armed Police personnel who had been part of Suvendu Adhikari’s security detail for over seven years, was found dead with a gunshot wound to his head inside a police barrack in Kanthi, Purba Medinipur, located opposite Adhikari's residence. He was rushed to the hospital but succumbed to his injuries.

Chakraborty's death was initially ruled a suicide, but the case was reopened in 2021 after Adhikari defected from TMC to the BJP.

2021: Pulak Lahiri, another Suvendu Adhikari aide killed

Pulak Lahiri, once known in political circles as a close aide and driver to Suvendu Adhikari, died under mysterious circumstances in 2021. Reports suggest that Lahiri was more than just a driver. During Suvendu Adhikari’s years in the Trinamool Congress and later after his switch to the BJP, he was widely described as a trusted associate who remained in his inner circle. During the high-stakes 2021 West Bengal Assembly elections, particularly in the fiercely contested Nandigram seat, Lahiri reportedly served as one of Adhikari’s counting agents.

However, soon after the elections, Lahiri was found dead under circumstances that quickly triggered suspicion and political controversy. Early reports suggested he was found hanging, but almost immediately, questions began surfacing from family members and political opponents, some of whom alleged that the death may not have been straightforward. These suspicions were amplified by claims, circulated largely through rival political narratives and local speculation, that Lahiri may have been preparing to reveal sensitive information linked to election-related matters.

That allegation, often framed as a possible “testimony” angle, has remained one of the most controversial aspects of the case. However, there has been no publicly established or legally verified conclusion proving such claims.